Sandy and Nora talk politics Radical politics through community, care and struggle
Nov 25, 2025
Syrus Marcus Ware, activist and founder of Black Lives Matter Canada, teams up with Matthew Green, former Hamilton city councillor, to explore radical politics. They call for a revolutionary rethink of left strategies and emphasize the importance of community and care. The duo discusses historical cycles of resistance, the failures of the NDP, and the need for pragmatic coalitions to address rising violence. They advocate for relational survival through mutual aid and stress the necessity of long-term community engagement to build collective power.
AI Snips
Chapters
Books
Transcript
Episode notes
Politics Move In Predictable Cycles
- Matthew Green frames political cycles as predictable pendulum swings from liberalism toward fascism in decline.
- He urges hope and responsibility to help build a more compassionate alternative.
Recommit To Party Principles
- Matthew Green warns the NDP failed by adopting Blairite third-way strategies and urges returning to anti-imperial, anti-capitalist values.
- He calls for democratic, deliberative rebuilding that includes communities rather than top-down policy.
Movements Follow Adaptive Cycles
- Syrus frames movements as adaptive cycles of growth, collapse, and reorganization (panarchy loops).
- He highlights loss of intergenerational learning and the need to study past waves to prepare for future change.
